Geochang County (''Geochang-gun,'' ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in South Gyeongsang Province,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. The Geochang International Festival of Theater, which was started in 1989, is renowned as the best play festival in Korea. The District Office is located in Geochang-eup, and has jurisdiction over 1 eup and 11 myeon.

The origin of Geochang's name

Geocheang Country ( Geochang-gun, Korean pronunciation) has been called ''Geoyeol'', ''Geota'' and ''Arim'' since ancient times, in the meaning of a large bright place, a very wide field, a wide field, or a large bright one. It was first called a Geochang in the 16th year of King Gyeongdeok of Silla in 757 and was called a geochang after being divided and annexed by surrounding cities.

History

*At the beginning of the Shilla Dynasty was referred to as Gayeol. *1896 Gyeongsangnam-do, Geochang-gun *1928 Gadong-myeon and Gaseo-myeon consolidated into Gajo-myeon. *1931 Eupwoe-myeon renamed to Wolcheon-myeon. *1937 Geochang-myeon elevated to Geochang-eup. *1957 Wolcheon-myeon consolidated into Geochang-eup.

Festivals

* Keochang International Festival of Theatre (KIFT) In Korea, it is called the four major theatrical festivals along with Ansan Street Arts Festival, Puppet Festival Chuncheon, and

Andong Maskdance Festival Andong () is a city in South Korea, and the capital of North Gyeongsang Province. It is the largest city in the northern part of the province with a population of 167,821 as of October 2010. The Nakdong River flows through the city. Andong is a m ...

. It is an international theater festival that is held every July and August under the theme of "Nature, Humanity, and Drama".

Twin towns and districts

Geochang is twinned with: *

Gokseong Gokseong County (''Gokseong-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Climate Attractions * Taeansa TempleCin Woo Le"Simply stunning: 33 incredible Korean temples" ''CNN Go''. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-12 * Neungpa Towe ...

(1998) *

Gangdong-gu Gangdong District (Gangdong-gu) is one of the 25 '' gu'' which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Gangdong is literally "east of the (Han) River". It is located on the east side of the city. Jungbu (literally "Central Part") Express Motorw ...

(1999) *

Gaoyou Gaoyou (), is a county-level city under the administration of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China, located in the Yangtze River Delta on the north side of the Yangtze River. History Recent archaeological finds at the Longqiuzhuang site in Gaoyou has ...

, China (2005) *

Yeongdo-gu Yeongdo District is a '' gu'' in Busan, South Korea. The ''gu'' itself is limited to Yeong-do (''Yeong Island'') located on the south edge of central Busan. It attained the status of ''gu'' in 1957. The Korea Maritime and Ocean University and t ...

(2006) * Suseong-gu,

(2006) *

Seocho-gu Seocho District () is one of the 25 '' gu'' (local government districts) which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Seocho is generally referred to as a part of Greater Gangnam Area, along with Gangnam District. As of 2022, Seocho District ...

(2007)

Climate

Geochang has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Dwa''), but can be considered a borderline humid subtropical climate (

: ''Cwa'') using the isotherm.

Geography

*Geochang-gun is situated at the far west side of Gyeongsangnam-do, and faces Gyeongsangbuk-do and Jeollanam-do. It does not have good transportation access.

Administrative Regions

The administrative region of Geochang-gun is made up of Geochang-eup, and 11 myeons. With an area of 804.14 km², it occupies 7.65% of Gyeongsangnam-do. As of August 2012, it has a population of 27,111 households, or 63,122 people, with 62.4% residing in Geochang-eup. Its highest ever population was 125,995, which was much higher than present day Changwon-si.

Notable people from Geochang County

* Shin Yong-Mok (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The le ...

: 신용목), South Korean poet * Choi Ri (

: 최리), South Korean actress * Shin Mi-hwa (

: 신미화), South Korean

bobsledder Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

* Kim Tae-ho (

: 김태호),

South Korean politician The politics of the Republic of Korea take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, and of a multi-party system. The government exercises executive power and le ...

* Shin Dalja (

: 신달자), South Korean poet * V (Real Name: ''Kim Tae-hyung'',

: 김태형), singer-songwriter, member of K-pop boygroup

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-pr ...

(Originally from Seo-gu,

Daegu, South Korea Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

)

References

External links

County government website
{{coord, 35, 41, N, 127, 54, E, type:city, display=title Counties of South Gyeongsang Province